Coach/Facilitator

Sam Spear

Sam is driven to make people better.

With a background as a licensed psychological clinician that lets him toggle between the worlds of coaching and therapy, Sam leverages who clients are at their best to help them navigate themselves at their worst.

Clients appreciate Sam’s ability to:
  • Better see the delta between their intention and impact
  • Use conflict as a gateway for creating connection, especially when we disagree
  • Isolate what’s most essential to increase efficiency and effectiveness

Areas of expertise:

  • High Functioning Leaders willing to choose curiosity over reactivity
  • Individuals and Entrepreneurs prepared to grow by modeling how to evoke the best from everyone around them
  • Evolving Culture while regaining sight of the power of connection, meaning and laughter
  • Businesses where success has negatively impacted relatability and upended trust

Bio

A California native, Sam honed his ability to tell powerful stories during his career as a journalist, after graduating with a degree in Journalism from the University of Missouri. He went on to obtain a Master of Arts degree in Clinical Psychology from Antioch University where he pioneered a new form of  Psychotherapy, using athletics and movement to facilitate insight. Along the way, he worked as a creative in advertising and marketing, ultimately rising to become CEO of an agency. Sam is certified in the Enneagram and well-practiced with the Myers Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI), the DiSC Personality Profile, and the 360 Feedback Process.

Currently living in Southern California with his wife and their spectacular dog, when Sam is not helping others, he is playing sports, hiking, biking, laughing, writing, and trying to find ways to make a small difference in the world.

Client List

Client Testimonials

The connection was instant. Sam knew how I was getting in my own way and he presented it with a roadmap that motivated changes and favorably altered my trajectory. During our work together, I was promoted to a bigger role that has suited me well. He was the first to tell me that: “The responsibility of a great leader is to make more great leaders.” I take many of the strengths I learned and refined from Sam and use those to create confident, creative, and thoughtful trailblazers all around me. If you have questions about him, please get in touch with me, I’m happy to tell you more.
John Ibsen
SVP Creative Advertising, The Walt Disney Company
It’s the questions. The ones that stop me. The ones that slow me down. The ones that remind me of Sam’s ability to – on a dime – question me. It’s also the way he identifies things. He helps get me back to the proper narrative, the one that matters most. He does this with grace, humor, surgical, and when necessary, carpet-bombing candor. Working with Sam hasn’t just been of great value to me, it’s had a qualitative influence on those I lead.
Jessica Neal
Chief Talent Officer, Netflix
Sam’s coaching was instrumental in helping me develop the leadership and management skills necessary to succeed in today’s workplace. From the outset of our work together, we were able to zero-in on key areas for development and he offered creative and innovative solutions to address them. He pieced together both my prior professional and personal experiences in creating a leadership development game plan. I would recommend Sam’s coaching to anyone looking for not only an objective assessment of one’s leadership/management capabilities but also looking for creative tools to close those gaps.
Abdul Ismaila
VP Finance, Scopely
Sam’s gift is that, in his coaching and structured experiences, he creates a mirror that allows you to touch down onto your best self. For me, it reconnected me to purpose - manifesting in “grace in action,” constructive humor, authentic energy, and the will to make things better for my team and organization. I was effective and successful before I started working with him – but was also burned out and “going through the motions.” Because of my work with Sam, I have taken on some of the most significant challenges I’ve ever faced in my career - with resilience and grace.
Mark Crowell
Executive Director, Organization Development and Learning at Cedars-Sinai